Qatar agreed on Wednesday to purchase up to 36 F-15 jets from the U.S. despite a recent strain in relations between both nations.
Defense Secretary James Mattis and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah finalized the $12 billion deal in Washington, according to a report published Wednesday.
The sale “will give Qatar a state of the art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar,” the Defense Department said in a statement.
Last year, Qatar was cleared to purchase up to 72 of the jets. However, last week, the Middle Eastern nation’s neighbors broke trade, transportation and diplomatic ties with the country over its link to terrorist groups. While Trump hailed the move as “the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Mattis worked to smooth over rising tensions with Qatar, where the the regional headquarters of U.S. Central Command is located.
The deal is expected to create as many as 60,000 U.S. jobs while the jets are built, according to Al-Attiyah.
